1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to grinding shoe devices employed by athletes to grind along rails, curbs or the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With the current popularity of grinding activities involving athletic shoes with grinding plates mounted on the bottom side thereof, many efforts have been made to provide a satisfactory grinding shoe. In an earlier patent application owned by the same Applicant, Ser. No. 08/799,062, filed Feb. 10, 1997, and now U.S. Pat. No. 5,970,631, issued Oct. 26, 1999 we proposed grind shoe devices including various configurations involving grind plate sections mounted under the arch and grind plate sections extending longitudinally of the shoe sole. In our co-pending U.S. application Ser. No. 09/333,612, filed on Jun. 15, 1999, we address the basic configuration of a cruciform grinding plate mounted on a shoe for providing the athlete with foot positions in both the direction of travel and perpendicular to the direction of travel. Such grind shoe devices have provided solutions to many of the problems associated with the desire for a satisfactory grind shoe. It has been discovered that the performance of grinding shoes may be enhanced by the provision of uniquely configured, longitudinally extending grind plate sections which are formed along their length with independently flexible sections or sometimes with discrete separate portions so that longitudinal flexing is facilitated during walking and running maneuvers and even during some grinding activities. It is these features as illustrated herein for exemplary purposes in FIGS. 17-20, and 28-52 to which the present invention is directed.
Further advantages of the grinding device of the present invention is that the longitudinal grind plate section is placed under the sole of the shoe in advantageous positions and orientations for various unique grinding activities. These advantages will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention.